The Slants, an Asian-American rock band, founded by Simon Tam, had applied for  the registration of their band name as a trademark. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) however, refused to grant THE SLANTS trademark registration under §2(a), which bars registration for marks “[c]onsist[ing] of or compris[ing] … matter which may disparage … persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.” It stated that the mark was denied registration for being…